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peeking head around door,, how hard is this?

J

jessie01

Active Member
how hard is the whole low carb thing,,,, for a newly diagnosed who is a real y carb junky? should i forget this whole thing for a while or jump right in? :shock:
 
heelllooo so are you a scary lot in here? if i fess up to having just eaten home cooked chips will get kicked right back out again :silent: :lol:
 
well I don't THINK I'm scary!

And even tho I do low carb, I have been known to have the odd chip... but usually celeriac or sweet potato ones...
 
It depends on whether you are diagnosed Type 1 or Type 2 how low carb you may need to go. If you go low carb, then you will have to completely re-think what you eat. As a Type 2, I rarely eat potatoes and never eat bread, rice or pasta. A good website that explains a low carb diet is http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf

If you are diagnosed Type 1 and are given insulin, then you adjust the amount of insulin to the amount of carbs you eat. A Type 2 doesn't have this option and a good way of getting your blood sugar levels down is to cut the amount of carbs you eat.

A rule I go by is that if a food is white (or can be white as in being wholegrain) - give it a wide berth, the exceptions to this are cauliflower and dairy. Meat, fish, cheese and vegetables that grow above ground are good, berries can be the best fruits, but the only way you will find out is by testing your BS levels before you eat and two hours after.
 
Hi again jessie01. I am right with you about this whole carbs thing, there are so many ways and things like diets people have tried. One bit at a time again Ive only just got my head around the idea of reducing my sugar intake to about 10% of what I used to have (Sigh) at first I was going nuts thinking I cant eat this or that and really feeling life had gone c***. For myself I understand why there is so much advice and so many different ways people control their diet, but dya know what I am keeping my meter white hot testing what this food does and if it is suitable for me and noting how my blood sugar and weight react it really is a lot of trial and error at the moment. Its not that I dont want to know about carbs etc, but to be honest it would do my head in.

Best regards

Simon aka Cobra3164

If I get really frustrated with it I just put on some Def Leppard full volume that always brings my blood sugar down head banging. :lol:
 
thankyou all,, im assuming it will be type 2......asto the rest who knows,, ,but i have GOT to loose weight im convinced thats why i am in the situation i am now... ive put on 5 stone the past 5 years and cant carry on that way...... very annoyed aftr having passed the gtt tests after having my last baby in may 11 that i didnt do something more pro active about not becoming a full diabetic but i guess its happened now now i need to take action...... do any of you have a fair few people in house..... one thing im thinking a bit eeek about is i have 5 kids ( one is a type 1 also) and my other half so how well do your low carb meals fit with family meals,, do you just have more of somehting and less of some things than others on their plate,,if that makes sense,,, ,million ? i have in my head!!! :roll:
 
right back from docs,,, saw the dsn,,, who has said i am diabetic but is a question mark over wether its type 2 or if i have late onset type 1,,,,,,,,, anyway been given glicazide 80mg 2 times a day been given a meter and told to test (initially main aim in getting my fasting readins down) have been refered to hospital,,,,,told to loose weight told not to get pregnant told i qualify at my weight for medication to help loose weight and told to come back in 2 weeks ( i was told alot lol) anyway NOW i have that out of the way....


low carb....

how do i start? im bit daunted by it but seriously seriously want to give this a go can anyone point me in the direction off info,, ive read about amounts of carbs etc to try to aim for,,,, but what actually can i eat? i mean say for brekkie,,,im assuming cereal or toast are a no so what do you guys eat? same for lunch and dinners?? :crazy:
 
Jessie, dont panic, this is easier than you think, first of all its important that you test your bg before and after meals, this will help you work out how many carbs your body can deal with whilst keeping good, steady bg levels.
It all depends on your circumstances, activitystress levels, medication, etc

Anyway, I allow myself a maximum of 50 carbs a day and I eat really well.
Breakfasts for me
Bacon, egg, mushrooms, tomato, slice of buttered bread
Full fat Greek yoghurt with berries, fresh or frozen, nuts, stewed rhubarb, sweetener, vanilla, banana essence, orange essence and zest, ground cinnamon and cloves, mandarins, pineapple ring - any of those, whatever I fancy at the time
Scrambled eggs, sometimes with salmon
Ham and eggs
Toast spread with nutbutter or butter and low sugar jam/marmalade
IanD's almond porridge, but I make mine with single cream and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar (Splenda)

Lunches
Sandwich - egg mayo, tuna mayo, ham, canned mackerel in sauce, cheese, humous, any of those usually with salad veg
Home made soup, with a slice of buttered bread
Omelette with cheese, herbs, peppers, other veg eg mushrooms, ham, etc any low carb filling really
Frittata - today I have one with spinach and goats cheese, left over from yesterday
Chicken kebab without the pitta (not often as I am not so keen on take aways)
Scotch eggs - make my own low carb version, recipes in the low carb recipes section
Salads
Leftovers from the night before

Evening meals
Stir fry with shirataki noodles
Stews with low carb dumplings, veggies and cauli mash
Shepherds pie - topped with cheesy cauli mash instead of potatoes, veggies on the side
'Bolognaise' with vourgette ribbons or shredded cabbage sauteed in butter until al dente, makes a good pasta substitute or shirataki noodles with the sauce, plenty of parmesan on top YUM
Chicken nuggets - low carb coating
Lasagna - I make my own low carb pasta sheets
Liver and onion with veggie mash, roast veggies
Bangers and buttery, cheesy cauli mash (check label on sausages for carb/meat content)
Chicken dishes - eg chicken wrapped in bacon, roast chicken, chicken in sauce, I thicken sauces with a little guar gum
Fish dishes - look in low carb recipes folder for ideas, we had low carb fish fingers yesterday
Roasts - with veggies, our favourite is cleriac dauphinois, cauli roasties, green beans
Curries with cauli pilau rice and low carb flat bread
Pizza - low carb with loads of topping
Lovely, creamy mushroom risotto and salad

Desserts
Low carb akes/muffins/ice cream/chocolate truffle/berry crumble with home made real custard or cream - usually I dont bother with desserts though

Snacks
Nuts/cubes of Feta cheese, cucumber, cherry toms/miniature stuffed peppers (with Ricotta cheese, from the deli counter and I am addicted to them), slices of salami or other meat, muffin sweet or savoury, couple of salmon pinwheels, olives

My family eat low carb meals with me, with additions, eg they may have new potatoes with meals, or sweet potato chips whilst I have celeriac or swede or pumpkin chips, all cooks at the same time in the oven, my children also eat more fruit than I do.

I bake my own low carb bread because even the Burgen Linseed & Soya gives me unwanted spikes.

I hope that this has given you some ideas, you might not have to be as strict as I have to be, just keep testing and play around until you have found what suits you.

All the best x
 
Hi Jessie,

I'm a type 1 (for 33 years) on a pump, but my control still fluctuates quite a bit so I started eating low carb about 4weeks ago, and haven't found it that hard. I have 2 kids (7 & 4) & work part time, and I have spent more time preparing meals & cooking, but not so much that I'd stop doing it. I wobble when I start thinking things like "I'm never going to eat a pie again! :oops: ", but I just think of what I'm going to eat one day or the next.
Whitbyjet gave you a great reply, and I'm forever indebted to her for all her posts on the recipe forum - she's saved my diet & possibly my life! Like her I don't eat potatoes, pasta, rice or noodles, and avoid normal bread.
I do mashed cauli instead of mashed spuds for me, taters for the rest of the family, celeriac chips instead of chips for me & over chips for the rest, not tried any pasta or noodle substitute yet but will do, grated cauli or celeriac for rice. I sometimes just have whatever meat or fish dish I would usually eat but with lots of low carb veg & no carb substitute & that does fill me up (which I really didn't expect).
I make my own low carb bread with my sister's breadmaker from a website called www.lowcarbcooking.nz - it's not quite like normal bread but as only has about 1.5g carbs per slice & doesn't cause sugar spikes I'm happy to live with it. The ingredients did cost me a lot to buy, but each loaf I think works out as about £1.
Last night I did a pizza base off the nz website & it was weird, but again meant a whole 10inch pizza only had 10g carbs in it, so I'll do it again.
I find my BG can cope with 40g of All Bran for breakfast - it's 26g carbs with milk & is very low glycaemic index, so slowly absorbed & keeps me pretty full. I have scrambled eggs or bacon & eggs or low carb toast some days, but eggs every day was doing me in when I started.
Lunch today was a low carb bread chicken sarnie, a huge salad with mushrooms, pepper, chicken, bacon bits, avocado, pumpkin seeds, olives, tomatoes, lettuce & kale & a weight watchers yoghurt (they're only 7-8g carbs per pot & I've only found natural yoghurt to be lower).
Tea will be lamb steaks, kale, leeks, maybe cauli mash or maybe just broccoli & some other veg in fridge - am at work today so will look when I get in.
MY daily carbs vary but I think they're around 90-120g. I still have a square of choc after tea & the occasional biscuit, I still eat Yorkshire puds (1 small one).
I've definitely found my sugars to be lower after meals since doing this, and that's what keeps me at it.
Hope it works out for you, and good luck!

Vicki
 
Oops, sorry, forgot to add that lowest carb soup I find is chicken - though I buy tins or use slim-a-soup rather than make my own. Or I buy those big pots from supermarkets as a treat & have half for lunch or tea with salad or low carb toast.

By the way, has anyone found a low carb version of a tortilla anywhere? I'd love to have fajitas again!
 
Try the oatbran bread, its slightly higher in carbs but doesnt cause a spike and its become very popular with all those that tried it.

Vicki - which pizza base did you make? Is it the one that I posted in the NZ forum?
 
I had Fajitas the other night just without the wraps. Just cooked the chicken, onion and peppers like normal and ate it dunked in salsa. Lovely!

Im now on the hunt for a cheap breadmaker after looking at that link above!! I miss sandwiches.
 
Hi WhitbyJet,

Don't know if it was yours or not, was called Meg's pizza base & was on the nz baking section. It was 1.5 cups ground almonds, olive oil, salt & an egg I think. I rolled it out to 9-10 inches & it was very thin & crispy when cooked - kind of broke into bits when I tried to cut it, but tasted nice.

Vicki
 
Ok Vicki, I know megs pizza base is VERY crispy, if you would like to have a firmer base, but not crispy, a bit more like the pizza we are used to over here then you cant go wrong with this recipe, its fooled many people into thinking its 'normal' pizza.

3 eggs, separated
100g cream cheese/Philadelphia
50g ground almonds
1 tsp salt
1 rounded tsp guar gum

Preheat the oven to 180C - mix all ingredients together really well, make sure there are no lumps, you dont need an electric whisk, a spatula does the job nicely. Fold in stiffly beaten egg whites. Turn out on to a greased baking sheet, use a spatula to gently shape your pizza, whatever thickness you like, bake in the oven for 20 minutes

Remove from the oven, now put on your topping, whatever you like, we had as base BBQ sauce (I make my own sugarfree sauces) spread all over, put on your topping, anything you like.
(I tend to go overboard with mine, I have sliced peppers, chopped red onion, olives, goats cheese, salami, anchovies, 2 types of cheeses and jalapeno pepper, sprinkled with oregano for good measure).

Return the pizza to the oven and cook for a further 10 minutes or so until the topping is cooked and the cheese melted.

It really is a good base, you can hold the slices in your hand, leftovers taste nice the next day, hope you enjoy.

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I was a great fan, still am, of the NZ breadmaker bread until DH found he doesnt get on too well with wheat gluten, this Dukan oatbran bread recipe is a sure fire hit, slices well, excellent for toasting, doesnt taste like cake, eggy or flaxy, excellent for sandwiches, or sweet/savoury toppings, eat with soups, etc - do I sound like an advert for Warburtons LOL

Here is my original post again

This is a very easy bread recipe, just mix all ingredients together, makes a decent loaf, doesnt taste eggy or of linseed - its almost like a white loaf, I think everyone will like this one.
You can get all ingredients from a supermarket, the oat bran from H&B.
Oatbran is supposed to be good for bg control and cholesterol, google health benefits.

300g oatbran
4 slightly heaped tablespoons ground linseed (prefer to use golden linseed)
1 x 250g tub Quark
150g plain yogurt
1 tsp sea salt
1 heaped tsp ground coriander
1 heaped tbsp baking powder
6 eggs

Mix together really well, tip mixture into a greased 10" x 5" loaf tin, smooth out the top, bake at 170 degrees (fan assisted) for 40 - 50 minutes.
 
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